FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 6, 2024

Subject: Statement on Political Repression

My name is Prahlad Iyengar. I am a second year PhD student in the Electrical Engineering Department. In October, I authored an article titled "On Pacifism" for the student-run zine Written Revolution, which is an ASA-recognized publication. On Friday, MIT administration informed me that as a result of this article, I have been banned from campus without due process and that I face potential expulsion or suspension. The administration has also banned Written Revolution outright, meaning students who disseminate or read this publication on campus may face discipline.

In the sanction letter sent by MIT's Division of Student Life on November 1, the administration accuses me of supporting "terrorism" because the edition of Written Revolution in which my article appeared includes images of posters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The letter reads: "The inclusion of symbolism from a U.S. designated terrorist organization containing violent imagery in a publication by an MIT-recognized student group is deeply concerning." The letter also says that my article "makes several troubling statements" about the history of violence and non-violence, including in anti-colonial movements of the mid 20th century. Referring to anonymous complaints filed by Zionist students, the letter says, "the reports MIT received indicated that these statements could be interpreted as a call for more violent or destructive forms of protest at MIT."

Dean of Student Life David Randall subsequently wrote in an email to the Written Revolution editors that our publication is now officially banned and censored:

"At this time, you are directed to no longer distribute this issue of Written Revolution on MIT’s campus. You are also prohibited from distributing it elsewhere using the MIT name or that of any MIT-recognized organization."

These extraordinary actions should concern everyone on campus. My article, which I encourage everyone to read at writtenrevolution.com, attempts a historical review of the type of tactics used by protest movements throughout history, from the civil rights movement to the struggle to the fight against South African Apartheid here on MIT campus. The article addresses the academic author Ward Churchill's famous essay, "Pacifism as Pathology" and responds to those who embrace pacifism as an end in itself, which intellectually undermines the Palestinian right under Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions to fight back against the oppression they confront. My article refers to a well developed body of international law to defend the right to protest and resist and argues that this includes the right to disrupt the military-intelligence apparatus. Such themes have also been addressed in classes offered by MIT's History Department (for instance, 21H.001 "How to Stage a Revolution") as well as in Opinion articles in The Tech, MIT's mainstream student newspaper. I don't ask that you agree with my views on these questions, but they have been subject to legitimate debate on the left for many decades and it is my First Amendment right to contribute to this discussion.

Expelling me and banning Written Revolution from campus as a result of this article would mark an unprecedented attack on the rights of the entire student body and faculty. Consider the precedent MIT's actions will set. The historical references to pacifist and non-pacifist movements of the past can be found in history textbooks - will MIT ban history books which document the crimes of the Israeli colony since its conception, and the resistance that rose against them? MIT accuses me of promoting terrorism, but how far will this label be applied? Supporters of Israel have used the word "terrorist" to describe United Nations bodies like UNRWA, poets like Mosab Abu Toha, and journalists like Bisan Owda--will MIT ban UN rapporteurs, poets, or visiting professors from speaking on the grounds that they are "terrorists" who promote "violence"?

Or what about Bruno Pontecorvo's 1966 film "The Battle of Algiers," which was also analyzed in a piece in this edition of Written Revolution. This film depicts the actions of Algerian revolutionaries who used violence to end French domination of the country. Could MIT fire professors or ban clubs for screening the film? Could the administration punish professors for making statements in class, based on anonymous reports from students who support Israel? MIT accuses me of "highlighting self-immolation" by including an image and discussion of the self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức - this photo won the World Press Photo of the Year award. Will MIT sanction students for engaging with and drawing from historical literature, images, and other content by fabricating "concern for the well-being" of the MIT community, the very community they have subjected to surveillance, harassment, and police violence?

Across the country, there is a systematic effort by university administrations to suppress free speech of those who oppose the genocide in Gaza. Cornell attempted to revoke the visa of a graduate student for participating in a protest. Students at the University of California are being kicked out of student housing and made homeless by disciplinary action for protest activity. A professor was fired at Muehlenberg College for social media posts opposing the genocide. Do we want colleges and universities to be places for free and open discussion, or are we going to allow MIT's administration to essentially accuse its own students of "terrorism" and ban student-run publications for articles that attempt to thoughtfully address the burning issues of the day?

Now, more than ever, we cannot take our basic democratic rights for granted. The genocide grows worse every day. In the north of Gaza, the Jabalia refugee camp has faced unimaginable horrors under a total seige and blackout by the Israeli military occupation. The World Health Organization reported that the Sheikh Radwan healthcare center, intended for distribution of the vital polio vaccine, was bombed by the Israeli military during a "humanitarian pause". In Lebanon, millions of people have been displaced while entire villages, some thousands of years old, are being entirely obliterated by the genocidal Israeli regime which seeks to erase Arab history. And here at home, the very engine of these global atrocities, Donald Trump has threatened to establish a dictatorship and says he wants to crush protests with violence. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has only continued to support the US complicity in genocide, and promises to use her track record of "law and order" to criminalize protestors. In the midst of this crisis, MIT's actions only weaken our collective ability to oppose threats to humanity, whatever their source.

I therefore make the following call to all students, staff, and faculty of conscience at MIT: Do not let the administration control our speech and censor student-run publications. This is not only about me, this is about the democratic principles involved. Do not let MIT limit the boundaries of thought on this campus by restricting our ability to engage in the criticism vital to movement building. We demand the administration drop its censorship of Written Revolution and allow me to return to campus to continue my academic work and research labor.

In Solidarity,

Prahlad Iyengar